JACKSON, Wyoming—The trend toward drive-to travel and wide open spaces has brought high demand to the 50-room Anvil Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming, over the past months. Now, the hotel’s owner/operator is gearing up for what demand the winter might bring.
Erik Warner, co-founder of Eagle Point Hotel Partners, which owns and operates the property, said in an email interview on 20 November that the pandemic has shifted demand toward hotels surrounded by nature with rooms accessible from the outside.
“Travelers want to be as safe as possible, and therefore, these places and hotels, like the Anvil in Jackson, surrounded by Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, have been and will continue to be in very high demand.”
The hotel, a renovated 1950s ski hotel located in the historic downtown of Wyoming’s Jackson Hotel, “includes a wood-fire Italian restaurant called Glorietta Trattoria—with a beverage program from Proprietors LLC, the minds behind NYC’s Death & Co—a lobby that functions as both a café and mercantile with a retail shop featuring local artisans, and 50 newly designed rooms,” Warner said.
“Designed by Brooklyn, New York-based firm Studio Tack, the overall design aesthetic is modern, yet rugged, reflecting the terrain and culture of Jackson.”
The Anvil Hotel features 50 newly designed guestrooms by New York-based firm Studio Tack. (Photo: Read McKendree)
Q: What is unique about the hotel and its offerings?
“Anvil utilizes its beautiful backyard through a variety of thoughtfully selected recreational activities for guests though its year-round Explorers Program. By partnering with local vendors, the program highlights itineraries with outdoor experiences which are curated for different types of travelers and change throughout the seasons—including guided wildlife hikes in Grand Teton National Park, snowmobiling to hidden mountain hot springs and dog sledding through Jackson’s rugged terrain.”
Q: In what ways has the property reset itself?
A: “We rewrote the book on how to operate hotels and restaurants in a pandemic. We’ve incorporated distancing markers on the ground, newly designed safety and social distancing signage throughout the property, and we’ve identified 15 high-touchpoints in each guestroom that need to be cleaned more often with CDC-approved products. We’ve also issued a pledge that guests sign at check-in committing to wearing masks and distancing while on property.”
Q: How have you gotten the word out about safety and security to your guests?
A: “At the end of the day, we exist to take care of travelers. Our mission and purpose in the community is to provide a place of comfort and security to our guests. As part of rewriting how we operate, we kept those principals and effectively layered on the idea of creating a ‘bubble’ of safety and security to guests on property. To get this message out, during a time of confusion and insecurity, we had to increase our marketing and communications efforts—and it’s worth it.”
Q: What types of demand are you expecting to see in months to come? How is your team prepping Anvil’s staff and property to be ready for it?
A: “This is a tough one for sure as we’re among the height of the pandemic. My gut (feeling) is that travel is going to be very restricted through early 2021. Those that do take the road will most likely travel to places with plenty of nature to explore and a low density of people. Ski resorts that have restrictions in place, deserts and beaches will all receive a lot of attention, especially if the destination has tight safety regulations in place.
The Anvil Hotel ran at 95% occupancies through the summer. (Photo: Tuck Fauntleroy)
“At the Anvil, we have been working on perfecting our systems as we’ve been running 95% occupancies through the summer. Now we are waiting to see if the winter will receive the same velocity of travelers who are willing to fly as we did last winter before the pandemic hit. We currently have over two dozen winter activities for our guests to enjoy outdoors. It comes down to whether those coming from out of state fee comfortable flying.”